UK’s net zero drive singled out in Trump attacks
The UK’s net zero policies were singled out in President Trump’s long tirade against European energy struggles at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
President Trump described the UK economy’s struggles in stark terms, suggesting that the Labour government had disregarded “one of the greatest reserves in the world” at the North Sea.
In his speech, he picked out countries that remained committed to net zero, pointing to it as central reason for higher prices and stagnant growth.
“The UK produces one third of the total energy from all sources that it did in 1999,” Trump said in his long speech.
“They are sitting on top of North Sea oil, one of the greatest reserves anywhere in the world.
“They like to say ‘that’s depleted’. The North Sea is incredible.”
Trump suggested that oil and gas reserves remained undiscovered in the North Sea and blasted government policies for making it “impossible” for companies to invest.
He took aim at net zero taxes, claiming the UK government took “92 per cent” of revenue. Government analysis and industry sources estimate the real tax rate to be 78 per cent, which is still considered to be high.
Trump went on to blast the UK’s commitment to building more wind farms, claiming they ruined landscapes and were loss-making.
“One thing I have noticed is the more wind mills a country has, the more the country loses and the worse that country is doing.”
He said China was “smart” for selling net zero technology while not building its own wind mills. A report by last year suggested China accounted for 70 per cent of global wind farm installations in 2024.
It is not the first time Trump has attacked Labour’s net zero policies.
The US president said as early as May last year that the UK’s North Sea reserves still had “a century of drilling left”. He said they would help get energy costs down.
Trump’s swipes: Net zero to Fed chair
During his Davos address, Trump spoke about everything from drugs pricing to Europe not being “recognisable”.
When speaking about domestic economics policy, the US president repeated his attacks on outgoing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
He revealed he had interviewed candidates for the next chair of the world’s most important central bank, suggesting that he would choose someone that is “great”.
However, Trump appeared to express his desire to interfere with the Fed’s independence. In comments that are likely to worry traders, he said rate-setters who backed raising interest rates had engaged in acts of “disloyalty”.
“We should be paying the lowest interest rate of anybody,” he said.
“Without us, most of the countries don’t even work. Without our military, you would have threats you wouldn’t believe.”
Trump added that central banks had become too “petrified” about high inflation, thereby sending jitters through stock markets as fears about higher interest rates grow.